Joint arthroplasty is a well-known surgical procedure by which a diseased and/or damaged natural joint is replaced by a prosthetic joint. For example, in a total knee arthroplasty surgical procedure, a patient's natural knee joint is partially or totally replaced by a prosthetic knee joint or knee prosthesis. A typical knee prosthesis includes a tibial tray, a femoral component, and a polymer insert or bearing positioned between the tibial tray and the femoral component. The tibial tray generally includes a plate having a stem extending distally therefrom, and the femoral component generally includes a pair of spaced apart condylar elements, which include surfaces that articulate with corresponding surfaces of the polymer bearing. The stem of the tibial tray is configured to be implanted in a surgically-prepared medullary canal of the patient's tibia, and the femoral component is configured to be coupled to a surgically-prepared distal end of a patient's femur.
From time-to-time, a revision knee surgery may need to be performed on a patient. In such a revision knee surgery, the previously-implanted knee prosthesis, sometimes referred to a “primary knee prosthesis,” is surgically removed and a replacement or revision knee prosthesis is implanted. In some revision knee surgeries, all of the components of the primary knee prosthesis, including, for example, the tibial tray, the femoral component, and the polymer bearing, may be surgically removed and replaced with revision prosthetic components. In other revision knee surgeries, only part of the previously-implanted knee prosthesis may be removed and replaced.
During a revision knee surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon typically uses a variety of different orthopaedic surgical instruments such as, for example, cutting blocks, surgical reamers, drill guides, prosthetic trials, and other surgical instruments to prepare the patient's bones to receive the knee prosthesis. Other orthopaedic surgical instruments such as trial components may be used to size and select the components of the knee prosthesis that will replace the patient's natural joint. Trial components may include a femoral trial that may be used to size and select a prosthetic femoral component, a tibial tray trial that may be used to size and select a prosthetic tibial tray, and a stem trial that may be used to size and select a prosthetic stem component.